Patentable/Patents/US-11942091
US-11942091

Alphanumeric sequence biasing for automatic speech recognition using a grammar and a speller finite state transducer

PublishedMarch 26, 2024
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

Speech processing techniques are disclosed that enable determining a text representation of alphanumeric sequences in captured audio data. Various implementations include determining a contextual biasing finite state transducer (FST) based on contextual information corresponding to the captured audio data. Additional or alternative implementations include modifying probabilities of one or more candidate recognitions of the alphanumeric sequence using the contextual biasing FST, where the FST further comprises a grammar as well as a speller finite state transducer.

Patent Claims
7 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.

Claim 2

Original Legal Text

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ASR model is a recurrent neural network transducer (RNN-T) model, and wherein the ASR engine further comprises a beam search portion.

Plain English Translation

This method for automatic speech recognition (ASR) involves determining a text representation of alphanumeric sequences from captured audio data. The ASR engine used in this process specifically employs a Recurrent Neural Network Transducer (RNN-T) model. Furthermore, the ASR engine incorporates a beam search algorithm. This system also applies a contextual biasing Finite State Transducer (FST), which includes both a grammar and a speller FST, to modify the probabilities of various candidate recognitions for the alphanumeric sequences to improve accuracy.

Claim 8

Original Legal Text

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio data is captured via one or more microphones of a client device.

Plain English Translation

This method for automatic speech recognition (ASR) determines a text representation of alphanumeric sequences from captured audio data. A key aspect is that the audio data itself is captured through one or more microphones that are part of a client device. An ASR engine processes this audio data, and a contextual biasing Finite State Transducer (FST), comprising a grammar and a speller FST, is applied to modify the probabilities of candidate recognitions for the alphanumeric sequences to enhance recognition accuracy.

Claim 10

Original Legal Text

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the alphanumeric sequence includes at least one number and includes at least one letter.

Plain English Translation

This method performs automatic speech recognition (ASR) to determine text representations of alphanumeric sequences found within captured audio data. A defining characteristic is that these alphanumeric sequences include at least one number and at least one letter (e.g., "A1" or "R2D2"). An ASR engine processes the audio data, and to improve recognition accuracy for these mixed alphanumeric sequences, a contextual biasing Finite State Transducer (FST) that includes both a grammar and a speller FST is used to modify the probabilities of candidate recognitions.

Claim 11

Original Legal Text

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the ASR model portion of the ASR engine is an end-to-end speech recognition model.

Plain English Translation

This method for automatic speech recognition (ASR) determines a text representation of alphanumeric sequences from captured audio data. The ASR engine responsible for this task specifically utilizes an end-to-end speech recognition model. To further refine the recognition process, especially for alphanumeric sequences, a contextual biasing Finite State Transducer (FST) that incorporates both a grammar and a speller FST is applied to modify the probabilities of candidate recognitions.

Claim 12

Original Legal Text

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the ASR engine is trained using a set of training instances, and wherein the alphanumeric sequence is not in the set of training instances.

Plain English Translation

This method uses an automatic speech recognition (ASR) engine to determine text representations of alphanumeric sequences from captured audio data. A significant aspect is that while the ASR engine was trained using a specific set of training instances, the particular alphanumeric sequence being recognized in the current audio data was not included in that initial training set. Despite this lack of direct training data, a contextual biasing Finite State Transducer (FST), comprising a grammar and a speller FST, is still applied to modify candidate recognition probabilities for this out-of-training-set alphanumeric sequence.

Claim 13

Original Legal Text

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the ASR engine is trained using a set of training instances, and wherein the alphanumeric sequence occurs a number of times, in the set of training instances, that is below a threshold value.

Plain English Translation

This method employs an automatic speech recognition (ASR) engine to determine text representations of alphanumeric sequences from captured audio data. The ASR engine was trained using a specific set of training instances, and the particular alphanumeric sequence being recognized appears in this training data, but only a limited number of times, below a predefined threshold value. To enhance the recognition accuracy for such rarely encountered sequences, a contextual biasing Finite State Transducer (FST), which includes both a grammar and a speller FST, is applied to modify the probabilities of candidate recognitions.

Claim 16

Original Legal Text

16. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the ASR model is a recurrent neural network transducer (RNN-T) model, and wherein the ASR engine further comprises a beam search portion.

Plain English Translation

This computing system is designed for automatic speech recognition (ASR) of alphanumeric sequences within captured audio data. It includes a processor, memory, and an ASR engine. The ASR engine's underlying model is specifically a Recurrent Neural Network Transducer (RNN-T) and also incorporates a beam search component for processing. The system is configured to apply a contextual biasing Finite State Transducer (FST), which includes both a grammar and a speller FST, to modify the probabilities of candidate recognitions for the identified alphanumeric sequences, thereby accurately determining their text representation.

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Patent Metadata

Filing Date

January 17, 2020

Publication Date

March 26, 2024

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Alphanumeric sequence biasing for automatic speech recognition using a grammar and a speller finite state transducer